Broncos shake off pesky Denver in Cable Car Classic
Tahj Eaddy had 19 points and Guglielmo Caruso added 18 as host Santa Clara topped Denver 81-64 on Wednesday in the Cable Car Classic opener at Leavey Center.
Santa Clara opened the game on a 16-2 run and, after Denver closed within 3531 at the break, scored 45 points in the second half.
Keshawn Justice chipped in 16, and Josip Vrankic had 13 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for Santa Clara (6-1), which earned its sixth straight home victory. Caruso also had seven rebounds and three blocks.
Jase Townsend had 15 points for the Pioneers (24). Robert Jones added 14 points.
The Cable Car Classic continues Saturday with Santa Clara facing Southeast Missouri, while Denver takes on Cal State Fullerton. Fullerton topped SE Missouri 64-57.
NO. 4 KANSAS BEATS DAYTON FOR MAUI TITLE >> Devon Dotson scored 31 points, Udoka Azubuike had seven of his 29 in overtime, and No. 4 Kansas outlasted Dayton 90-84 to win its third Maui Invitational title.
The Flyers and Jayhawks spent much of the afternoon in Lahaina, Hawaii, trading leads and highlightreel plays in a bleachershaking atmosphere inside the bandbox Lahaina Civic Center. Kansas (6-1) used a late 11-0 run to go up by three, but Dayton’s Jalen Crutcher buried a 3-pointer from about 5 feet behind the arc with 2.1 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 73.
The Jayhawks went to Azubuike early in the overtime and the 7-footer delivered, scoring three baskets at the rim. A 32% free throw shooter entering the game, he also hit three from the line in overtime.
Marcus Garrett made three free throws in the final 18 seconds to seal Kansas’ second Maui title in four years.
Ryan Mikesell led Dayton (5-1) with 19 points but missed two free throws with 11.5 seconds left. Obi Toppin scored 18 points. NO. 3 MICHIGAN STATE BEATS
UCLA AT MAUI INVITATIONAL >> Cassius Winston scored 20 points, Xavier Tillman had 14, and No. 3 Michigan State (5-2) knocked off UCLA 75-62 in the Maui Invitational fifth-place game.
UCLA (5-3) was led by Chris Smith with 13 points and Cody Riley with 11. BROOKS HELPS NO. 6 NORTH
CAROLINA KNOCK OFF ALABAMA >> Garrison Brooks scored 16 of his 20 points in the first half, and his
North Carolina (5-0) teammates finally picked up the scoring pace as the sixthranked Tar Heels defeated Alabama (2-3) 76-67 in the opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis at Imperial Arena at Paradise Island, Bahamas.
North Carolina’s Brandon Robinson, playing in his first game of the season, added 12 points. KISPERT LEADS GONZAGA
TO ROUT OF SOUTHERN MISS >> Corey Kispert broke out of an early season shooting slump and scored 28 points to lead No. 8 Gonzaga to a 94-69 win over Southern Mississippi in the first round of the 2019 Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis. Kispert, who had made just 3 of 24 field-goal attempts in the Bulldogs’ past three games, made 9 of 11 attempts.
Joel Ayayi finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and six assists off the bench for Gonzaga (7-0), which came in to the game averaging 88.3 points per game.
LaDavius Draine and Artur Konontsuk each scored 19 points to lead Southern Miss (2-4).
VIRGINIA SHUTS DOWN
MAINE WITHOUT KEY PLAYERS >> Mamadi Diakite scored 15 points, and Jay Huff had 13 as No. 7 Virginia beat Maine 46-26 at home. The Cavaliers (70) played without starting guard Braxton Key, their second-leading scorer and top rebounder, after the school said he had wrist surgery and will be sidelined indefinitely. They also were without Kody Stattmann, another starter, who missed his fourth consecutive game with an undisclosed illness.
KENTUCKY FORWARD SESTINA
OUT WITH BROKEN LEFT WRIST >> Kentucky forward Nate Sestina will miss approximately four weeks after breaking his left wrist in practice, the school reported.
Coach John Calipari posted a nearly two-minute video on his verified Twitter account that the 6-foot9, 234-pound graduate transfer was injured Tuesday when he tried to brace himself after falling backward from a blocked layup attempt. He was scheduled to have surgery on Wednesday.
NCAA DENIES APPEAL OF
WISEMAN’S SUSPENSION >> The NCAA announced that it upheld James Wiseman’s 12-game suspension, denying Memphis’ appeal. The star freshman center was declared ineligible earlier this month and suspended. He won’t be able to return to the court for the Tigers until their Jan. 12 game at South Florida.